TEWKSBURY, MASS — Cappy Daume, Scott Jamieson, and Mike Smith, and Nathaniel Heald of Jones Lang LaSalle have closed the $10 million sale of Ames Pond Corporate Center in Tewksbury. The two-building, 154,200-square-foot office park is set on 55 acres at the I-495 and Route 133 interchange. The property is currently 71 percent leased to seven tenants, with five new leases totaling 100,000 square feet closed since June 2007. The site can potentially accommodate upwards of 150,000 square feet of commercial development. A joint venture partnership between Leggat McCall Properties and Dead River Properties purchased the park. Jones Lang LaSalle represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — Construction has topped out for The High Line Building, an 11-story office tower located at 450 W. 14th St. in the Meatpacking District of Manhattan, New York City. The building consists of a six-story glass tower built atop a five-story former meatpacking facility. The building contains 100,000 square feet of office space, as well as 7,636 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 4,308 square feet of lower level retail space. The High Line Park, a former elevated rail line that is being converted into a public park, runs 103 feet through the building. The project is applying for Gold-level LEED-Core & Shell certification. Fashion retailer Helmut Lang has already signed a lease for two full floors of office and showroom space at the project. Completion is scheduled for the fall. The High Line Building is being developed by CB Developers. It was designed by Morris Adjmi Architects. Newmark Knight Frank is marketing the office component of the project and Winick Realty Group is marketing the retail space.
ROSELAND, N.J. — CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has arranged $12.25 million in permanent acquisition financing for 425 Eagle Rock Avenue, a 128,034-square-foot office property located in Roseland. The property consists of a four-story, Class A office building that was 90 percent occupied at the time of closing. The loan carries a 10-year term with a fixed interest rate. CBRE’s Debt & Equity Finance Group secured the financing on behalf of the borrower, Marcon Roseland. The lender was a Connecticut-based commercial bank. CBRE’s Tri-State Investment Group also represented the seller, Principal Financial Group, in the disposition of the property.
DORCHESTER, MASS. — Urban Strategy America Fund, an investment fund controlled by New Boston Real Estate, has closed on financing for the construction of Phase II of the residential component of Olmsted Green, a 42-acre mixed-use project located in Dorchester. The residential component focuses on affordable housing. Phase II will comprise seven new buildings containing 50 affordable rental units in a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Phase I, consisting of rental apartments and for-sale housing, was completed in late 2008. Once complete, the residential component of the project will also include 287 for-sale townhomes, 60 units of affordable senior housing and a 123-bed skilled nursing and mental health facility. Olmsted Green is being developed by Lena New Boston, a joint venture between New Boston Fund and Lena Park Community Development Corp. The Phase II housing project received funding from the various Massachusetts state sources, including the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, HOME Funds and the Facilities Consolidation Fund. The city of Boston provided funding from its Neighborhood Housing Trust, as well as the Department of Neighborhood Development’s HOME Funds. The permanent lender is the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, and Bank of America is …
FRACKVILLE, PA. — Fameco Real Estate has arranged a 35,000-square-foot lease at Schuylkill Mall in Frackville. The space will be occupied by Las Vegas-based junior department store Famous Labels. Fameco’s Jerry Johnson negotiated the transaction on behalf of the landlord, Michael Perlstein. Schuylkill Mall is anchored by Bon Ton, Kmart and Sears. Fameco Management Services acts as property manager for the mall.
BETHLEHEM, PA. — Liberty Property Trust has sold a portfolio of five office buildings located in Bethlehem. The portfolio totals 152,100 square feet and consists of 1655 and 1685 Valley Center Parkway and 3400, 3450, and 3500 High Point Boulevard. Set on 21 acres at the Schoenersville Road exit of Route 22, the Class A office buildings are located within a 175-acre master-planned development. The portfolio, which was 91 percent occupied at the time of the sale, was purchased for an undisclosed price by Bethlehem LVCC Associates. Michael Hines and Robert Fahey of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller.
NEW YORK CITY — The Empire State Building is slated to undergo a green renovation process that will reduce the building’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 38 percent. Changes include a 6,500 window light retrofit, the introduction of radiator insulation, improved tenant lighting, daylighting and plug upgrades, air handler replacements, a chiller plant retrofit, a whole-building control system upgrade, ventilation control upgrades and new Web-based tenant energy management systems. Upon completion, the building should achieve an ENERGY STAR score of 90, and it will pursue LEED Gold certification. Jones Lang Salle will be managing the renovation. The initial cost of the renovation is anticipated to be $20 million with a resulting $4.4 million in annual energy savings once the project is complete.
WEXFORD, PA. — Marcus & Millichap recently completed the $4.4 million sale of Festival Foods in Wexford. The 50,198-square-foot shopping center is located in the Wexford Plaza Shopping Center and was not in use at the time of the sale. Andrew Marguiles, Tom Gorman and Matthew Gorman of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, PC Wexford Associates, and procured the buyer, ECHO LB Associates.
NEW JERSEY — White Plains, N.Y.-based Howard Properties and Chatham, N.J.-based The Garibaldi Group have arranged a build-to-suit lease transaction for Cervalis. The company will occupy a newly constructed, 148,191-square-foot data center in northern New Jersey that will be developed by Hackensack, N.J.-based Russo Development. The facility will feature 50,000 square feet of raised floor data center space, as well as 25,000 square feet of workspace, recovery space and administrative offices. It marks Cervalis’ entry into the New Jersey market; its other facilities are located in New York and Connecticut. The company could not disclose the future address of the building. The construction timetable was not released. Howard Properties and The Garibaldi Group are both affiliates of CORFAC International.
CATSKILL, N.Y. — Stan Johnson Co. has negotiated the sale of a 14,550-square-foot, freestanding Walgreens, located in Catskill, for $4.8 million. Brad Pepin of Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller, Point Five Development Catskill, which is also the developer of the property. Todd Curley of Coldwell Banker Commercial Prime Properties represented the buyer, an individual investor participating in a 1031 exchange.